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A crude oil tanker owned by an Istanbul-based Turkish company was attacked early Thursday about 14 miles off the Bosphorus, according to Turkish media reports.
The crude oil tanker Altura, owned by Pergamon Shipping, had departed from Russia and was reportedly attacked by both an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned surface vehicle.
The Altura tanker, belonging to Turkish company Pergamon Denizcilik Isletmeleri A.S., departed from the Russian port city of Novorossiysk on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. The tanker, reported to be carrying 140,000 tons of oil, was allegedly attacked at around 12:30 a.m. about 14 miles from the Bosphorus.
The tanker, which is under European Union sanctions and classified as a “Shadow Fleet” vessel on MarineTraffic, was reportedly hit by both a drone and an unmanned surface vehicle. Damage was reported on the upper part of the ship and in the engine room.
The Altura tanker issued a distress call and was assisted by the nearby vessel Erdek. According to radio communications, the engine room was taking on water, but no injuries were reported.
Rescue 11 and Rescue 12 vessels from the Turkish Coastal Safety General Directorate, along with the fast boat Coastal Safety 5, were dispatched to the scene.
According to Turkish maritime news outlet Haber Denizde, the tanker previously operated in the Besiktas Maritime fleet under the name Besiktas Dardanelles. The vessel was later acquired by Panama-based Kayseri Shipping in May 2024 and added to its fleet under the name Kayseri. In November 2025, the ship was purchased by Istanbul-based Pergamon Maritime and renamed Altura.
The 163,750 deadweight ton tanker was later subjected to successive European sanctions.
The vessel was added to the European Union sanctions list on Oct. 24, 2025, followed by Switzerland and Ukraine on Dec. 13, 2025, and the United Kingdom on Feb. 24, 2026.
Sanctions announcements also indicated that Hector Varela De Leon, the founder of Kayseri Shipping, was added to the U.S. sanctions list in July 2025, while the company is reportedly owned by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, the secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who was assassinated by Israel in February 2026.
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